Monks win $316 in court case against church that disrupted them

Mlive.com ^ | July 15, 2004 | Mark Hicks

[AskStPhilomena]

Bravely defending Catholic churches from sacrilege is now considered an"hate crime"

[narses]

"Bravely defending Catholic churches from sacrilege is now considered an"hate crime""

Their crime? Saying the Rosary in a "Catholic" Church.

[GirlShortstop]

A little more than $300 is not exactly what TIBETmichigan considers compensation for a recent Buddhist monk concert that was ruined...

Is that intended as a slap in the face?  The dollar amount made me laugh... "here fellas, take this ... now get outta here... go see Richard Gere or somethin' and lemme get back to the real issues on my docket".

[Land of the Irish]

Ping

[Smocker]

"St. Margaret Mary Church is affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X, which does not follow tenets of an edict that transformed the Roman Catholic Church during the 1960s."

HMM... Lots of wreckovations and lots of liturgical destruction came about as a result of the pastoral council known as Vatican II, but where are the Official Edicts? Do they exist?

How can one get Edicts out of a Pastoral Council?

sigh, it gets so tiresome reading the same old lies over and over again.

[Grey Ghost II]

The reverend did not appear in court on June 1, and was ordered to pay the $316.22 by default.

I would encourage everyone to send $316.22 to Fr. McMahon. He will put it to good use.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Ha! I like that idea!

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

His organization is not pursuing any other legal action and is coordinating a visit from another group of Buddhist monks this fall.

uh oh. Round II.

[Grey Ghost II]

uh oh. Round II.

Road Trip!!!!!

[nickcarraway]

The pastor is the one who is at fault here. He should be sued and have to pay the money, since he is using a Catholic church in a way he has no authority to.

[Siobhan]

Gosh, where can you get a good Auto da Fe when you need one.

[narses]

"... of an edict that transformed the Roman Catholic Church during the 1960s."

How does one "transform" the Truth?

[rogator]

"... Lots of wreckovations and lots of liturgical destruction came about as a result of the pastoral council known as Vatican II, but where are the Official Edicts? Do they exist?"

At last Wednesdays "adult Education" class, my liberal pastor said that Vatican II directed the removal of Communion rails and that it is up to each bishop whether to allow kneeling in his diocese. The Official Edicts must exist somewhere or my pastor would be a liar.

[Viva Christo Rey]

The priests and traditions of the society -- which has churches worldwide and claims actor and "The Passion of the Christ" director Mel Gibson as a member -- are not recognized by the Vatican or Pope John Paul II.

Oh really.

I picked up a pamphlet at Mass last Sunday at the SSPX chapel that was printed by the Arcadia, CA chapel that FORMERLY WAS where he attended Mass.

Let me review it before I start letting off steam.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I read the same pamphlet. Remember the secular news people rarely get all the facts straight when writing about religion, let alone traditional Catholics.

[Mark in the Old South]

How is this for a pattern PING?

[NeoCaveman]

A Grand Rapids District Court judge last week ordered members of Allendale's St. Margaret Mary Church to pay $316.22 to the Grand Rapids-based group as part of a small claims case it filed for the disruption of a Feb. 8. concert at the Basilica of St. Adalbert.

Seems symbolic. John 3:16, but I'm not sure what the 22 means. Any thoughts?

[Mark in the Old South]

Re: "Road Trip!!!"

Heh I like that idea.

[NeoCaveman]

Road Trip!!!!!

Sounds good!

[Dominick]

Shall I criticize the Pastor? In a word, DUH!

I detest this kind of sacrilege, but, it should have been stopped by the Bishop, and if he doesn't act, someone with standing in that Diocese should file a protest, and the appeals should continue. How long does it take to write a letter? We had good results with Call to Action in St. Petersburg Diocese, and by the will of God we can keep them from meeting in our Churches.

The reverend did not appear in court on June 1, and was ordered to pay the $316.22 by default.

This wasn't smart, why not? By saying Catholic Prayers in a Catholic Church, they would have excellent grounds to say we were protesting a Sacrilege. Then the story about the protest would be in the papers, even if they lost.

This is what I complain about when I say leaving the field to the enemy, in this case Satan working through a misguided Paster, and some hapless monks.

St. Margaret Mary Church is affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X, which does not follow tenets of an edict that transformed the Roman Catholic Church during the 1960s.

This is where the smear is starting. They can paint this as the acts of radicals, and not outraged Catholics. Don't give them a reason to smear you, and you are more effective. We have to fight these people, but here, a wedge is already started. No matter what someone from this group says, guess how the Press will reface the remark?

Freeman believes the society's actions during the concert could be considered a hate crime. His organization is not pursuing any other legal action and is coordinating a visit from another group of Buddhist monks this fall.

The H word! They dropped the H bomb on you!

First this isn't a crime. Nope, no crime at all, except trespassing maybe (big maybe), and if a Priest charges a person who was praying in the Church with trespassing, an enterprising person could really have fun with the Bishop. Now trespassing would be someone hanging around the convent, but a person coming to a public Mass, even if disruptive would be a harder sell.

But wait there is more! From PDF from the Diocesse we read:
In recent weeks and months, Catholics in the Diocese of Grand Rapids have had at least two occasions to question how the Catholic faith views other Christian and non- Christian faiths.
One event was a musical demonstration by Tibetan monks in the Basilica of St. Adalbert in February. The second event, which has drawn national and international debate, is Mel Gibson’s film, "The Passion of the Christ."
At the core of both events is the relationship of Catholics to people of other faiths. How are Catholics called to view those who are Buddhist? Does the Church ask us to blame the Jewish people for the death of Jesus? During Vatican II, a document called the Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions stated clearly that Roman Catholics "believe and teach that all men and women form one human family, have a common origin in God and share a common destiny in divine providence."
In that document, the Church specifically recognizes that Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and people of other non-Christian faiths should be respected. "The Church’s very foundation was laid among the Jews, as Paul said in the ninth chapter of his Letter to the Romans. The Jews, he said, have been adopted as daughters and sons; they have been given a covenant, have been given a divine law, have been taught to worship God, and indeed, have been given Christ."

The rest of the article dodges the question about the monks in the sanctuary of the Church, or even having any presence at all on Church property. It seems to castigate people for being anti Semitic, and doesn't address the issue. Perhaps they should invite some Christians Evangelizing Catholics people on the campus as well, to promote ecumenicism.